Hamburg University of Music and Theatre is a public university of music and theatre located in Hamburg, Hamburg. Hamburg University of Music and Theatre is a large public arts university which combines conservatory music, opera, acting, directing, dramaturgy, teacher education, music therapy, musicology, cultural management and artistic-scientific research. Its institutional development includes 1950 — the State University of Music was founded in postwar Hamburg. The new institution restored advanced professional music education after the wartime destruction and political fracture. The current academic profile is characterised by instrumental performance, chamber music, voice, opera, composition, multimedia composition, conducting, church music, jazz, music theory, school music, acting, theatre and music-theater directing, dramaturgy, theatre education, music therapy, musicology, and cultural and media management. Location is key, since the Budge-Palais’s Harvestehuder Weg campus is located at the Außenalster and connects students with the Hamburg State Opera, major orchestras, theatres, churches, schools, broadcasters, studios, festivals, cultural organisations, and the international media sector of the port city.

This master file includes a course portfolio of 13 undergraduate entries and 17 postgraduate entries, with subject combinations grouped under their parent degrees where appropriate. Undergraduate examples are Instrumental Music, Voice and Opera, Composition and Music Theory, Conducting, Church Music, Jazz, and later entries include Stage and Music-Theater Directing, Theatre Teacher Education, Cultural and Media Management. In the postgraduate program students can specialise in Instrumental Music, Chamber Music, Voice and Opera, Composition, Multimedia Composition, Contemporary Performance and Composition, Stage Directing, Music-Theater Directing, and Cultural and Media Management. Each course is still a parent qualification, and specialisations are recorded in the course entry rather than being misrepresented as separate degrees.

Admission is governed by program. The applicants apply via the current application portal of the HfMT and meet the requirements of the respective study program such as documents, recordings, portfolio, repertoire, theory, aural skills, audition, acting, movement, interview or academic review. The exact semester of entry and the proof of German/English language skills depend on the course. Candidates must check the language of teaching, entry semester, subject requirements, selection procedure and document route before submission. International School or University Qualifications External evaluation, certified translations, APS documentation where applicable or other proof of academic equivalence may be required. Master’s committees may require module descriptions, portfolios, writing samples, professional experience or interviews. Admission to the doctoral program is separate from admission to the master's or bachelor's program and normally requires a viable research proposal, eligible supervision and formal acceptance by the appropriate faculty.

There is no tuition for regular consecutive study. The published contribution for the Winter 2026/27 semester is €399.80, including €226.80 for the Germany semester ticket and student-services, administration, student-body and hardship-fund elements. Distance and continuing modes can publish separate tuition. These institutional fees are not inclusive of rent, health insurance, food, learning materials, residence formalities, project costs or personal travel. If provided for by the relevant law or program regulation, special tuition may be provided for continuing-education, distance-learning, joint, second-degree, or long-term study formats. Funding (e.g. BAföG for eligible students, Deutschlandstipendium, DAAD and Erasmus+ mobility support, foundations, research employment or university-specific awards) is available, but each funding application is evaluated separately from admission.

Career preparation is in line with the university’s subject mix and is not a guarantyd placement scheme. Internships, applied projects, research assistantships, employer events, language development, entrepreneurship services, international mobility and a thesis developed in cooperation with an external partner can all help to improve professional readiness.